Jeff Fiedler
Jeff Fiedler is an American musician and producer from Philadelphia, PA known primarily for his contributions to New Jersey band The Paper Jets, as well as the artist collective The Sleeping Satellites Initiative. While Fiedler considers himself a writer first, producer second, singer/performer last, he has managed to put together a considerable body of recorded work despite a number of long breaks between projects. Bio and Early Years Fiedler began playing music at an early age, showing particular proficiency in drums, guitar, and - most notably - songwriting. Fiedler claims to have written his first song by age five and has been credited with authorship for over 1,000 songs. By the time he reached high school, Fiedler started putting together lo-fi cassette recordings of himself, unwittingly falling in line with the early 90s lo-fi movement in indie rock proliferated by artists such as Pavement, Guided by Voices, Sebadoh, and Elliott Smith. Fiedler eventually fell in with his first band, Red Baron, as the drummer. The group stuck around long enough to put on a concert for their high school. Most notably, the band performed an acoustic version of "Purple Haze," by Jimi Hendrix which featured a walloping Fiedler drum solo. While they remained friends, Red Baron disbanded following graduation. After transferring between the University of Delaware, and Bucks College, Fiedler landed at Rider University in 2004 where he hosted the syndicated radio program Sounds From the Lost & Found. It was there that he attracted the attention of Station Manager Frank Lettieri and Program Director Brian Erickson, then in the beginning stages of putting together their first band, The Invisible Solid. The Invisible Solid Following the departure of founding bassist Drew Novelli, Fiedler was asked by Erickson to join The Invisible Solid. He tentatively accepted, giving himself an "out" by saying he'd only do it on a temporary basis. Fiedler made his live debut in January 2006 at the BLC Pub in Lawrenceville, NJ. His tenure in the group is often referred to by fans as the "classic lineup," because Fiedler's prowess as a multi-instrumentalist afforded them the ability to stretch out, musically, on stage in ways they were unable to do earlier, earning them a signature . It is documented that - on any given night - Fiedler would switch between four different instruments (guitar, keyboard, bass, drums) and occasionally sing lead vocals. This also prompted drummer Frank Lettieri to try his hand at switching from the drums to guitar and bass. Lambusta would also switch between lead guitar and bass; sometimes during the same song. Singer/guitarist Brian Erickson's left-handed dexterity and limits as a musician at the time prevented him from participating. Live @ The Hook The Invisible Solid announced a new project, Live @ The Hook, a live album recorded over two dates in May 2006. The band recorded eight unique songs including the previously-unrecorded, "Hope," written by Bill Lambusta which featured Fiedler doing a mid-song switch from keyboard to bass. The live album would never see the light of day due to Fiedler's pending departure. In 2011, while compiling the Bored In Town ''rarities collection, Fiedler and Erickson passed on including anything from the cancelled live album. Said Erickson of his reasoning, "We were on a tight deadline...with only a week to compile, mix, and master the album...the 'Hook' stuff would have taken way too long put together." In 2013, when compiling b-sides for Fiedler's Sleeping Satellites project, the Hook material was revisited as a possible source. To date, nothing has come out. Departure Fiedler's time in The Invisible Solid marked their most prolific period as a live performing act. The unfortunate side-effect of this was that there aren't very many documents of the group together in the studio. In fact, there isn't a single song on which all four bandmembers participate in a studio setting. Fiedler's frustration with the band's lack of studio activity coupled with a particularly difficult run of live performances in the Spring of 2006 led to his departure from the touring lineup by June. While this prompted Novelli's welcomed return, the full band wouldn't perform again until December, their fate at that point already sealed. Producing the Water Damage EP Fiedler was retained by The Invisible Solid as a studio contributor and was immediately hired to produce the band's hopeful debut EP, entitled ''Water Damage. Unfortunately, disagreements, financial considerations and general ambivelance led to the session's untimely cancellation. Fiedler, unable to "keep the peace" within the band, walked out, signaling the end of his participation in The Invisible Solid. Lambusta would leave next, followed by Novelli. The Invisible Solid played its final show in January of 2007 and Water Damage was shelved permanently. The Sly Figurines Following the dissolution of The Invisible Solid, Erickson, Fiedler, and Lettieri, along with Jim McGee and George Petrillo formed The Sly Figurines. Initially put together as a vehicle to promote Erickson's 2007 solo album, Folk-Pas, the group morphed into a fully-functioning band that featured songwriting from each of the five members. Between his dates with The Sly Figurines and frequent duo shows with Erickson, Fiedler played approximately 40 live dates throughout the 2007 calendar year, by far the most lengthy tour he has ever embarked upon. By Summer, the road had again taken its toll on Fiedler leading once more to his premature departure. This time, the group managed to record four of Fiedler's songs to various stages of completion: "The Last Thing On My Mind," "Alexandra's Got Another Boyfriend," "Pretty Little Head," and "Windsor Diaries," would all eventually be used for future projects. Retirement After ending his term in the Sly Figurines, Fiedler stopped performing live and ceased working in the studio almost entirely. By late 2008, Erickson and Lettieri, along with Lambusta and newcomer Scottie Maloney formed The Paper Jets. While the band's first album, Face Forward, was self-produced, Fiedler was recruited to assist during the mixing process. Following Face Forward's release in June of 2009, Fiedler all but disappeared from the music scene. Ongoing Collaboration with Erickson Over the years, Fiedler has maintained a fruitful, productive collaboration with Brian Erickson - even during his self-imposed retirements - and, together, they've penned a number of songs, including: *"Start Making Sense" (2006) *"Take It All Back" (2006) *"The Way I Write" (2006) *"Stutter Step" (2006) *"It's Only Talk" (2010) *"Father's War" (2010) *"Mick Jagger Said It's Okay" (2010) *"Sometimes Letters" (2010) *"Dress Down" (2010) *"Now You're Gone" (2011) *"World's Away In the Same Room" (aka "Frank's Van") (2011) *"Across Your Shoulders" (2015) *"Say I Can" (2015) *"Go On Go On" (2015) The pair also recorded about a dozen Fiedler piano demos for a potential Erickson Sings Fiedler ''album, however, the project never came to fruition and the demos remain unreleased. Typically writing collaboration begins with Erickson bringing a finished piece of music to Fiedler looking for help with a lyric, however, in the case of "Start Making Sense," "Take It All Back," and "The Way I Write," Fiedler helped compose the music, as well. And with "Father's War," Erickson composed a lengthy poem set to disparate musical pieces and Fiedler helped organize an eight-minute ''avant garde piece into a more accessible four-minute pop song, much to Erickson's delight. The Sleeping Satellites Initiative Toward the middle of 2011, after a two year break, Fiedler quietly entered the studio with Frank Lettieri and - within a few weeks - managed to record a fully-produced five-song EP that the pair christened Zero Hour. Fiedler's idea was to - instead of fronting a proper band - form a collective of musicians who could perform original material under one moniker as several different iterations of the same band as well as simultaneously promoting the projects of each individual member. Hence, the Sleeping Satellites Initiative was born. Fiedler managed to recruit Lettieri, Erickson and Lambusta, as well as Philadelphia solo act Matt Pischl and New York singer/songwriter Tim Ryan to also participate. All proceeds from any of the Sleeping Satellites music would benefit Hands Together, a charity with whom Fiedler has worked closely for much of his adult life. Sleeping Satellites recordings would start as "pay-what-you-want" digital releases. Zero Hour and Second Retirement With no lead-up or announcement, Zero Hour was released via BandCamp in the Fall of 2011. Disappointed with the lack of reception, Fiedler withdrew the EP a few weeks later and - again retreated into retirement. 2013 Comeback Fiedler - still smarting from Zero Hour's lack of reception - once again entered the studio determined to right the ship. He managed to record a number of new tracks and planned a live show to announce both their release, as well as a reissue of Zero Hour. The performance took place in March 2013 at Riverview Studios in Bordentown, NJ and featured Fiedler on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Erickson on bass and backing vocals, Lambusta on lead guitar and Lettieri on drums. It was the first time Erickson and Lettieri had played with Lambusta in two years, and the first time the foursome had shared a stage together in six years. By April, Zero Hour ''was back in circulation. The ensuing 10 months were peppered with a flurry of singles that included: *"The Last Thing On My Mind" *"Mick Jagger Said It's Okay" b/w "Through the Window" *"Just Perfect As Is" *Dress Down" b/w "Sometimes Letters" *"Stutter Step" b/w "What Else" (unreleased) In addition to the singles, Fiedler released the long-bootlegged, ''Live on WRRC ''EP, and the ''Work In Progress Vol 1 full-length demo collection. It proved to be a banner year for The Sleeping Satellites and for Fiedler as a presence in the studio; he had never before been more prolific! The Last Thing On My Mind Fiedler's first post-''Zero Hour'' single was perennial fan-favorite, "The Last Thing On My Mind." Fiedler had been performing the song live for close to a decade prior to its release. The basic guitar track was recorded in May of 2007, and the remaining parts of the track were recorded intermittently between then and late 2012. Most notably, "Last Thing" features faint backing vocals from the late Tim Ryan. Ryan's contribution to the song was unplanned and unexpected. According to Erickson (who co-produced the song): "I was archiving about half-a-dozen of Tim's practice tapes when I hear him start singing, 'Last Thing.' You wouldn't believe my surprise! Tim didn't know the verse lyrics so he just kind of la-la-la's his way through. But he put down a surprisingly deft chorus vocal. I couldn't leave that in a vacuum. Tim recorded it for a reason. We needed to get it on the proper recording, so I cut the audio, did a little noise reduction, and added Tim's vocal to the final mix. That's how it sounded if you saw us play live circa 2007. Now that's how it sounds forever." Jeff Goes Solo and Fiedler/Erickson Forms Following the slew of singles he released throughout 2013, the follwing year was mostly quiet for Jeff. He reemerged in the fall of 2014 with a series of onstage appearances (including appearing with the Paper Jets for one number at a show at the legendary NYC venue The Bitter End) and a major announcement: He would dissolve the Sleeping Satellites Initiative and begin regularly releasing records under his own name, but establish a non-profit banner, Benefactor Records, through which he could continue the Initative's mission and release his own charity records. This news was quickly followed by the announcement of a second studio EP from Jeff, a duo release with Brian Erickson entitled I'll Believe It When I'll See It which would be released on Oct. 28, 2014 and also feature the first officially released versions of the songs "What Else," penned by former Invisible Solid member Drew Novelli, and "Stutter Step," a song dating all the way back to Jeff's tenure in the Invisible Solid. Jointly credited to both men (and shortened on the album artwork to the moniker Fiedler/Erickson), the EP would go on to be Jeff's most commercially successful release since Zero Hour. The Fiedler/Erickson tandem would issue a further release in December 2014, the archival live package Live On Air, which had been recorded by the two men during a live guest appearance on Rider University's WRRC back in 2006 during the promotional tour for Brian's solo album Folk-Pas. The live EP fared less successfully commercially than its immediate studio predecessor but boasts the first-ever performance of "Start Making Sense," which had been written immediately prior to going on air, and the only known live recording of Brian's song "Couldn't Close the Door," which had appeared on Folk-Pas in pure solo form but was rearranged for the live broadcast to include harmony vocals from Jeff. On January 13, 2015, Jeff released his third studio EP (and the first to be credited solely to himself), the ironically-titled Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which featured the on-record debuts of longtime concert staples "Windsor Diaries," "Wrong," "The Trouble with Love Is ...," and the seldom-heard "Pretty Little Head", as well as the EP debut of "The Last Thing on My Mind." At least one more completed studio EP - a collaboration with Bill Lambusta - is known to exist and has been confirmed for a 2015 release, but no title or release date has been publicly announced as of yet. Two other nearly-completed studio outtakes are also known to exist - a Fiedler/Erickson/Lettieri/Maloney co-write entitled "Worlds Away" and a song penned by Erickson, Lambusta, and former Luck Out bandmate Liz Gayder, entitled "Save Your Name" - but with the four principals behind Jeff's EPs being increasingly occupied by other things - Jeff being a full-time graduate student, while Brian and Frank both continue to serve as the major creative voices behind the ever-rapidly-rising outfits The Paper Jets and Dust of Days, as well as being in hot demand as producers, engineers, and session musicians for other area talents, such as singer-songwriter Jesse Elliot, while Bill serves as songwriter and guitarist for the indie band Bootstrap Bandits, as well as serving as the bassist for Small Planet Radio - it remains to be seen if a fifth studio release from Jeff is in the cards or if the future holds any other musical activity for this longtime band associate. Influences While Fiedler claims to have dozens of artists which have affected his songwriting over the years, his compositional style seems most informed by Joe Jackson and Paul Westerberg/The Replacements while his literate, wordy lyrical delivery is influenced by Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, and Todd Rundgren. Legacy While never formally a member of The Paper Jets, Fiedler's presence around the group during its formative period, as well as his ongoing writing collaboration with Erickson have produced some of the group's most interesting, enduring material. As a solo artist, Fiedler's legacy is an interesting examination in triumph over adversity. His solo project exists almost solely for the benefit of those who help and participate in it, as well as for the recipients of the Hands Together charity efforts. For that selfless act, Fiedler has been formally commended. He went from being a footnote to a full-fledged frontman and bandleader who - in 2013 - had the most productive, musically rewarding year of his career.